San Francisco vindicator., 1887-05-02
THE ANCIENT PuEsLos OF TAOS.
Interior Of the Huts-council Chamber

Interior of the Huts-CounciI Chamber
Under Ground-water-Carri
The pueblos of Taos, for there are two
of them, side by side, overlook the town
and are nestled at the foot of sage
grown hills. From a distance, as one
approaches them, the two piles OF SUM-
baked houses resemble pair of ant
hills. or collections of mud blocks, such
as swallows might have constructed for
a habitation. And nearer acquaint-
ance does not wholly dispel ones first
illusions. The huts are small in size and
are built one on top of the other. without
regard to any rule. The roof of one
house is the foundation of another.
Shaky ladders, worn and old, reach from
the ground to the roof above, and en-
trance to the various habitations Is by
means of second ladder leading
through trap door cut in the house top.
The interior of the huts is dimly lighted
and usually consists of one room, the
walls of which are whitewashed and
hung about with the belongings of the
resident In their younger years the
pueblos were surrounded by high wall,
which served as a means of protection
against the attacks of enemies, and the
villages were inhabited by a large and
active population. Now, however, the
wall is down, and the Indians, number
ing about 900 in all, are quiet, peace
able, rather lazy, but wholly picturesque
people. They are self-supporting and
own large fiocks of sheep and goats.
Each pueblo has its governors, and the
councils of the tribe are held in what is
| known as an estufa, cavern-like place
excavated from beneath the ground, and
entered by ladder which projects far
above the narrow opening. In this sub
terranean cave the cases involving breach
of discipline and the laws of the people
are considered and framed, while tradi-
ton reports that there is also kept burn
ing down there a light which is destined
| to light the return of the mystic god,
| Montezuma, for whom the priests offer a
prayer from the housetops, both in the
morning and at night. Whether this is
so or not has never been clearly decided,
and probably never will be. No stranger
is allowed to go into an estufa, and judg-
ing from the smell arising from the
dark-looking place no white man would
ever wish to investigate the truth of the
story.
Separating the two pueblos of Taos is
| a narrow shallow creek. Here, at all
hours, from early morning until late at
| night, the women of the village gather.
Some are filling earthen jugs with water,
others are washing, and not few are
| giving their naked children a much
needed bath. They are full of mischief,
these black-eyed and often pretty girls,
| and have little hesitation in wetting d
stranger by pretending to let fall one OF
| their heavy jugs at convenient mo-
| ment. Their dress consists of single
| garment-of calico or some other coarse
| material, which reaches barely to the
knee and falls away from the shoulder
| in rather imm Oldest manner. Gathered
around their heads and falling in really
| graceful folds over the shoulder is q
| black shawl, behind which the face is
| often concealed with real or affected
modesty.
The pottery is homemade and is not
to be compared in finish or design with
that which used to be made by the fore
fathers of the present race. But il
answers all the purposes of the time.
work of the village. Mothers at 12 years
of age, gray-haired, fat and slovenly al
80, and blear-eyed, lean and toothless at
go, they mend their husbands clothes.
carry the wood and water into the
houses, tend the sheep, dig in the fields,
cook, wash and labor from early morn
until late at night. Common baking
ovens are scattered about the plazas.
Made of sun-baked brick and oval in
shape, they are filled with hot Goals until
sufficiently heated, and are then cleaned
out and the bread put in. After the loaf
is baked, and while the ovens are still
warm, the dogs of the village crawl in
and gain comfortable nap.-New Mex
ico Cor. San Francisco Chronicle.
Dr. BesseIs, who is in charge of the
government carp ponds, says that only
about 200 out of every 1000 goldfish